Manchester United star praised for “lion” international performance after heroic moment

Manuel Ugarte has been praised for a “lion” performance for Uruguay following the Manchester United star’s heroics last weekend.

Manuel Ugarte‘s career at Manchester United is only just getting started after a slow first few months at Old Trafford.

Having signed from Paris St. Germain for a fee of around £42 million, former manager Erik ten Hag chose to integrate the 23-year-old into his side gradually, but poor performances saw him quickly lose his place.

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However, towards the end of October, he regained his form. He started multiple fixtures in a row once Ruud van Nistelrooy took charge, playing well alongside Casemiro across the four games.

With Rúben Amorim joining as the club’s new head coach, many expect Ugarte to continue to grow at the club, having already played 85 times under Amorim while the pair were at Sporting CP.

International performances

Over the weekend, Ugarte took headlines worldwide as a heroic act saw him clinch a 90+12-minute winner as Uruguay defeated Columbia. The midfielder came on as a substitute in the World Cup qualifier tie.

After this, manager Marco Bielsa chose to hand Ugarte a starting role in their tie against Brazil, where he played 90 minutes as the game ended 1-1 on Tuesday evening.

Reacting to the performance, El Observador handed Ugarte a 5/10 rating and summarised his performance by explaining he grew into the fixture as it went on.

“He started off behind and often dropped in between the defenders to widen the defensive spectrum against a Brazil that came out to attack with a very wide attacking front,” the paper explained.

“He made a couple of wrong passes but was not intimidated. When he could play out, he spread Bruno Guimaraes with a hook and caused a foul that was a yellow card, although Piero Maza saved him from it.

“At 25′, in one of the many balls that Brazil tried to filter through the central lane, he saved with a bicycle kick. He was well cautioned at 40′ for a foul that arose after a recovery on Bentancur, who was surprised by three rivals. In the second half, every time he got into the area, he arrived with precise help and key recoveries. Lion.”

Montevideo echoed these thoughts: “The most distant of the midfielders, often positioned as a third defender to close spaces.

“He worked hard, but sometimes he was outnumbered by Raphinha and when he centralised to filter passes. He earned a yellow card in the first half, but he held it with great calm. He was a very important defensive piston in the collective functioning.”

Ugarte will now return to Manchester on Wednesday and is set to reunite with Rúben Amorim has he reports for duty at Carrington on Thursday.

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